New President Named At Nova Official Known For Fund-raising Prowess

The president of a New England university, known for his fund-raising prowess, was selected on Friday as the new president of Nova University, Broward County`s sole university.

Stephen Feldman, president of Western Connecticut State University since 1981, will begin his term July 1.

``I`m extremely impressed with the faculty, administration and students. Nova is truly a unique university with a unique mission,`` Feldman said on Friday by phone.

Feldman will succeed Abraham Fischler, who has served as president since 1970.

Fischler guided Nova from an obscure small-town college into a nationally recognized institution. He weathered tough financial times, staved off a takeover threat by the state university system and increased enrollment from 17 graduate students to more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Fischler, 63, will take a yearlong sabbatical for research, writing and travel before returning to the Nova faculty.

Feldman, 47, was selected from a pool of 178 applicants, said David Rush, search committee chairman. A private university, Nova is not required to reveal its list of applicants.

Feldman`s fund-raising efforts in Connecticut resulted in the endowment of a business school and the establishment of a library. His strong ties with the business community lured donations for a computing center and a biochemistry laboratory at the university, which has 6,000 graduate and undergraduate students.

``We found his business background a definite plus, especially since he`ll be active in the raising of funds,`` Rush said.

But some faculty at Western Connecticut, in Danbury, say Feldman`s interests in business and technology override his concerns for liberal arts.

``In the past, there has been a fair amount of tension between the faculty and the administration because of a perception that he tended to favor the business school,`` said John Briggs, an English professor.

``It`s kind of a mixed bag,`` he said. ``With the fiscal crunch, he`s adept at getting money and keeping the university afloat, which is appreciated. But the complaints about his management style are not.``

Feldman is not shy about expressing his interests in business and technology.

His goals on arriving at Nova include maintaining the university`s stance in the business community with state-of-the-art technology.

``I`m most impressed with the school`s innovative programs and its focus on students,`` he said. ``I want to build on that.``